Seventh-ranked Monfils, a French Open quarterfinalist, will face Russia’s 45th-ranked Dmitry Tursunov later Thursday due to a compressed schedule forced after rain postponed six matches on Wednesday at the US Open tuneup event.

Monfils will have to win five matches in four days here to claim his fourth career ATP crown after titles last year at Montpelier, in 2009 at Metz and in 2005 at Sopot. His only career outdoor hardcourt final was last year at Tokyo.

Sweeting, who won his first ATP crown at Houston in April, surrendered a break to Monfils on the Frenchman’s third chance of the eighth game, the only break points either man had in the first set.

Monfils then held, capturing the set with his seventh ace after 32 minutes.

Sweeting, ranked 66th, surrendered a break to Monfils in the third game of the second set but broke back to 3-3. Both held to a tie-breaker, in which Monfils raced to a 6-1 lead and finished off the American after 85 minutes.

Tursunov needed only 77 minutes to oust Flavio Cipolla 6-1, 6-4.

Monfils, 24, split with Australian coach Roger Rasheed after Wimbledon and came only with fitness coach Patrick Chamagne to Washington, where he reached the semifinals in 2007 in his only prior appearance.
 

In Kitzbuehel, Austria, Robin Haase of the Netherlands defeated sixth-seeded Andreas Seppi 6-4, 6-2 Thursday to reach his second career semifinal at the Bet-at-Home Cup.

Haase needed eight set points to close out the opening set but converted his first match point against the Italian, who won just two service games. He will play Pablo Andujar of Spain or Joao Souza of Brazil.

Earlier Thursday, Haase rallied to beat second-seeded Feliciano Lopez of Spain 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 in a second-round match that was delayed by rain. Haase and Lopez were tied 1-1 in the final set when rain interrupted play. Haase broke Lopez in the first game and closed out the win when the Spaniard double-faulted on match point.

Andujar routed fellow Spaniard Albert Ramos 6-2, 6-1, and Souza defeated Diego Junqueira of Argentina 6-2, 6-2. Junqueira replaced No. 3 Ivan Ljubicic, who pulled out of the event with a back injury.

Also advancing to the quarterfinals were Albert Montanes, who downed No. 5 Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-4, 7-5, and Marcel Granollers, who defeated Croatian qualifier Antonio Veic 6-0, 3-6, 6-4.